Public Speaking Course:

Pauses

After taking my public speaking course, you should know that a
speaker does not need to constantly
keep talking to keep the audience awake. Skilled speakers know how to use the technique
of silence to add to make the presentation more effective and polish off the program.

Theater actors have identified many different pauses they use while
performing. In my public speaking course you will learn the best way to
utilize these pauses.

Short

The shortest pauses, which last anywhere from one-half to two seconds,
are for the simple purpose of gathering your thoughts.

All you have to remember is to slow down. Give the audience a chance to
understand what you are saying.

Change your voice inflection slightly at the end of each thought to
cue the audience the next thought is coming.

Use a short pause both before -- and after -- any phrase or word
you want to emphasize. (Refer to this website's 'How to Deliver a Punch Line' article, for reference.)

Spontaneous

A spontaneous pause is a planned 'unplanned' pause used so that you don't look too
rehearsed, which requires a lot of practice to pull off well.

You might apply this pause when you want to pretend to search for a
word or phrase that you already know.

Long

Long pauses of more than three seconds are very powerful! Again, long
or "pregnant pauses" are very powerful when used correctly.

They command the audience to ponder, to linger long, on what you just
said, that is if what you just said was worth thinking about.

Please - [pause] - [pause] - [pause] - don't be afraid to be quiet
once in a while. The silence can call the audience to attention.

A pause can dramatically increase the impact of what your saying, as
well as add an element of passion and power to your presentation.